Technically skilled and demonstrating a love for the medium, these outstanding new ceramics describe in intimate detail the landscape and history of the artists’ home on Darnley Island in the Torres Strait.

Ellarose Savage’s playful and colourful ceramics depict the vibrant forms of underwater sea life. Through a combination of clay and woven ghost-net fibre she creates a visual feast for the eyes, recreating the beautiful forms and unusual shapes of coral reefs and the movement and patterns of the ocean. For Savage ghostnet is a material which holds personal significance and recalls memories of learning to dive in the ocean with her father. Her colourful and joyful ceramic objects celebrate her connection to country, culture and her father’s influence on her art-making.

Jimmy Thaiday’s ceramics draw heavily from his cultural heritage, stories of warfare and European colonisation of the Torres Strait Islands passed down through generations. Using a combination of stoneware and resin, Thaiday recreates traditional weapons of battle such as the powerful Gabagaba and Seuriseuri (multiple-headed club). His intricately crafted club handles feature traditional markings, decorated with skulls and feathers, creating a visual documentation and strengthening of traditional knowledge and story-telling.

Ellarose Savage and Jimmy Thaiday have exhibited widely around Australia and in 2014 were finalists in the 30th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award and the Shepparton Art Museum Indigenous Ceramic Art Award. In 2015 Thaiday was Winner of Best Cultural Artefact in the Gab Titui Indigenous Art Awards, Queensland. Their work is held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, National Museum of Australia, and Parliament House, Canberra.